


Elite Fairy Godmothers

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [73]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Children, Bat Family, Bludhaven Bomben, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, No Romance, No Sex, No Smut, One Shot, TFFW, Team as Family, high society events, no violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 15:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19703827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: Cassandra wasn’t normally excited about balls, especially ones that her brothers weren’t going to be attending. However, she was looking forward to a night with her father, even in such a setting. And she was happy to help a worthy cause, in however small a way.Of course, her life being what it was, Cassandra marked the ball on her calendar and then ultimately forgot about it over the next two weeks, while she fought crime, trained their new teammates, worked at the Studio, practiced her dancing, and worked with Harper to turn her new hearse into a kick-ass vigilante vehicle. In fact, she forgot until it was really too late to be working out the details.Twenty-two minutes later, she was in the secret base of the Blüdhaven Bomben, with her team fully prepared to finish getting her ball-ready in record time, like a group of elite fairy godmothers. Assuming fairy godmothers could beat up mobsters and solve crimes in their spare time as well as make a young woman ball-ready in less than two hours.





	Elite Fairy Godmothers

It had her brothers’ written all over it, but it was her father who contacted Cassandra about the Wayne Foundation’s newest point of interest. 

They were hosting a father-daughter charity ball to raise awareness for sexual harassment in the workplace and gain some funds to try to pass a bill that would legally address such behavior within the state. With any luck, facing jail time or community service would deter such behaviors in Gotham and New York in the future, as many of those who committed such crimes weren’t going to be deterred by fines. They were also hoping that bringing their daughters and seeing all of their peers’ daughters in such a setting would remind the wealthy, upper-crust men (many of whom were guilty of such inappropriate behavior) why they needed to do something about the problem. 

Cassandra wasn’t normally excited about balls, especially ones that her brothers weren’t going to be attending. However, she was looking forward to a night with her father, even in such a setting. And she was happy to help a worthy cause, in however small a way. 

Of course, her life being what it was, Cassandra marked the ball on her calendar and then ultimately forgot about it over the next two weeks, while she fought crime, trained their new teammates, worked at the Studio, practiced her dancing, and worked with Harper to turn her new hearse into a kick-ass vigilante vehicle. Dick was already trying to name it. Cassandra loved all the weird names he came up with. 

When she woke up one morning and saw that it was the day of the ball, Cassandra hadn’t initially been concerned. She had a gown. She had makeup. Her hair was easy to style into something ball-appropriate. Dick had said she could borrow his car to drive to Gotham so she could get ready before she ever left. Everything was completely in order. 

Or so she’d thought until she mentioned it to Stephanie while they were working at the juice bar in the Studio. 

“Wait, this is to promote a charity thing, right?” Stephanie frowned. “That means they’re going to be using images and stuff from the ball to promote their cause and the bill.”

“I guess, yeah.” Cassandra didn’t see why her friend looked like that was a concern. Cassandra was well used to her image being used in assorted articles. At least this one would be accomplishing something more significant than putting on a public image or satisfying the public’s need for gossip. 

Her friend sighed and shook her head. Then she smacked Cassandra’s arm. “Cass. You can’t wear the same gown you wore to Jason’s homecoming ball to this charity ball. They need the images to be unique so people will want to check them all out or be able to see them and go ‘hey, that’s from that charity ball’. Its like when a rock star is promoting a new album; they have to wear different outfits to every interview so the promotional footage looks different every time.”

“Okay…so I’ll get a different dress.” Cassandra shrugged and gave her friend a look to indicate that she still didn’t see what the big deal was. 

Before Stephanie even opened her mouth, it was clear she was freaking out a little on her friend's behalf. 

“The ball is in _six hours_! It takes four hours just to get to Gotham! You have to make sure the dress fits perfectly _And_ that your hair and makeup go with it! What if you can’t find one the same color as your other gown? Do you have accessories that will work with any color or style gown? Wait, let me see your nails-”

Stephanie grabbed Cassandra’s hand and yanked off the silicone glove she’d been wearing. “ _Cass_ …you’re way past due for a manicure.” She glanced at the clock. “Shit, we’d never have time to get in anywhere decent. That’s okay. I can make a cheap home manicure kit look like a hundred dollar job.”

She nodded as though some sort of catastrophe had been resolved. “Okay, you call Dick and tell him you need a gown, asap, then start calling in replacements for us here. I’ll go grab my manicure kit and text Harper to bring her hair supplies. The woman is crazy good with hair. We’ll meet upstairs in twenty. Don’t worry, you’re gonna put Cinderella to shame by the time we’re done.”

Cassandra actually hadn’t been worried. Still, she appreciated that her friend was determined to help her. Besides, it would probably be fun. She just smiled and nodded. Stephanie was already pulling off her apron on her way out anyway. 

Cassandra texted her big brother to fill him in about the dress. He replied right away that he’d have it taken care of. Shortly after, she got a text from Luke that he had other employees on their way to fill in for her and Stephanie. Then she got a text from Harper, asking if she wanted her to swing by her place and grab her jewelry box on the way to the Studio. Cassandra figured that was a good idea. As soon as she was relieved from the juice bar, she grabbed her makeup bag from her locker and started making adjustments to bring her look from work-ready to ball-appropriate. 

Sure enough, twenty-two minutes later, she was upstairs, in the secret base of the Blüdhaven Bomben, with her team fully prepared to finish getting her ball-ready in record time, like a group of elite fairy godmothers. Assuming fairy godmothers could beat up mobsters and solve crimes in their spare time as well as make a young woman ball-ready in less than two hours. 

Dick had all of Cassandra’s measurements on file and had been sewing together circus costumes and vigilante suits for most of his life. He showed her three separate gowns he’d bought, each a style she liked and in colors that worked for her. He told her they could either return the ones she didn’t wear or she could keep them for future balls if she liked them. In the meantime, he would start working on the gown of her choosing to ensure it fit like it had been made for her, rather than grabbed off the rack. That was something frowned upon for high society events. 

It was kind of funny, seeing Dick use the mannequin that usually held her vigilante suit when they were working on it to fit the ballgown. The look of determination on his face was actually the same as he stuck pins in the expensive fabric and double checked measurements. 

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Harper brought out a chair for Cassandra to sit in so they could both work on her at once. The blonde pulled over a TV tray and immediately got to work on her nails while Harper moved into Cassandra’s line of vision with a grin, a spray bottle, a comb, a pair of shears, and an electric hair trimmer. “Okay, I’m going to need you to trust me here.”

Harper’s idea of a fashionable hairstyle was not in line with high society’s idea of a fashionable hairstyle. However, Harper knew this. She would never do anything that would make a situation difficult for Cassandra. She would never do anything that would make her friend uncomfortable. Cassandra had no doubts about either fact. She also had no doubts in trusting the other young woman. 

“I trust you.” She grinned at her blade-and-razor-wielding friend. “Have at it.”

Harper immediately started spraying Cassandra’s hair with the bottle (that was just filled with water) and combing it out. Then she started separating, clipping, and eventually, using the trimmers at the back of Cassandra’s head. With no mirror nearby, Cassandra had no idea what was going on, but she trusted she’d like whatever Harper was doing. 

Luke arrived during this, and started picking out jewelry to go with Casandra’s new gown. 

Him, Cassandra could see. He looked from the jewelry, to the gown, to Cassandra, and then pulled aside a few items. They were perfect. He then looked through the pile of shoe boxes that had been compiled of ones Dick bought along with the dresses and that Harper had brought when she grabbed Cassandra's jewelry. He selected an equally perfect pair and set them aside as well, to make it easier for Cassandra to grab everything once she was ready.

Stephanie glanced over as she shook a bottle of topcoat. She immediately wore an excited smile. “Wow, Luke. That’s gonna look awesome.” She looked at him with intrigue. “I didn’t know you were so good at accessorizing.”

“You usually see me working or...” He gestured over the Studio. “ _Working._ ” He gave a small shrug. “Plus, I have two sisters and this isn’t my first ball.” 

Luke chuckled quietly. “Besides, you should see my little sister trying to get ready for a big date.” He shook his head in amusement. “Tam needs all the help she can get. She isn’t nearly as cool as Cass here.” He offered Cassandra a smile as he pointed out her poise. 

She returned it. “Thanks for lending me your expertise.”

He gave her a friendly nod. “Anytime.”

“Okay, the dress is almost good to go.” Dick announced as he was sewing together what appeared to be a small drawstring purse out of some leftover fabric. “Where are we with everything else?”

“Hair is almost set.” Harper must have held up something behind her. “Which one guys?” Dick, Luke, and Stephanie each responded with the exact same answer, then laughed. Cassandra felt Harper working a thin band into her hair without pulling the style out of place. “There.”

Harper leaned over into Cassandra’s eye-line and smiled. “You’re even more beautiful than usual.”

Stephanie, meanwhile, had directed both of Casandra’s hands into some sort of nail dryer. “Nails just need another minute.” She was also touching up her makeup a little. “Makeup looks good.” She leaned back and looked over her friend’s face critically, then looked impressed. “Eyebrows are flawless.”

As soon as her nails were dry, Cassandra grabbed the gown and tucked behind a medical screen to change. Harper came around to make sure her hair was still okay and to help with her jewelry. Her friends offered several supportive remarks as soon as she stepped out. They weren’t just being encouraging. 

The dress fit Cassandra perfectly and was even more beautiful than it had been before Dick made some adjustments. Her nails and makeup looked as though she’d hired a high-end professional. Her hair was equally well done, making her look sophisticated without looking old fashioned. The shoes, jewelry, and delicate hairband complimented everything perfectly. No one would ever had guessed that she’d waited until the last minute to get ready for the ball. 

Cassandra knew her father would have been proud to have her on his arm that evening no matter how she’d looked, but she was happy to know she would be doing her family and community proud. She’d seen images of Thomas and Martha Wayne at balls and similar events in their day. They always looked their best. She was honored to be carrying their traditions and elegance as well as their name. 

Moreover, she liked it all. Her brother and friends had taken her tastes into account as well as the event she would be attending as they prepared everything. The result was high class but also distinctly _her_.

She smiled at her big brother and her friends. “Thanks, guys. I never could have pulled this off without you.”

“You never have to.” Dick answered readily and with a proud, sincere smile. “You sure you’re good to drive out by yourself?”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine. Thanks. I’ll text you when I get there.” She gave her brother a kiss on the cheek and was pleased to see her no-smudge lipstick was living up to its name as well as she was. 

She similarly kissed Harper, and then laughed when Stephanie cried for her to watch the dress. She left with a parting wave and a grin after that. 

The night went beautifully. Dick must have texted their father while she was on the way, because he’d selected cuff-links and a handkerchief for his expertly tailored tuxedo that complimented Casandra’s gown. Other than telling her how lovely she looked upon her arrived, however, her father didn’t seem interested in their clothes. He seemed to be enjoying spending an evening with her -even at a high society ball they knew he wasn’t overly fond of- just as much as she was enjoying the time with him.

They danced. They caught up with each other’s lives. They tried _all_ the hors d'oeuvres. They mingled a little. They laughed a lot. 

They posed for some photos and ignored the cameras taking others without comment. They made brief statements to the press about the ball, the cause behind it, the Wayne Foundation, their cities, and their family. Cassandra begged off questions about her gown by citing that it had been a gift from her brother. Her father spoke of how fortunate he was to have such a wonderful family and how proud he was of each of his children. He referred to his daughter as one of the best gifts he had ever received in life.

Cassandra stayed at the Manor that evening. She texted Dick and Harper to let them know how the night had gone. She called Jason and Tim to make plans to see them before she left Gotham the next evening. She went out with Batman and Robin in an updated version of her old Batgirl suit, so as not to give away that Black Bat was in Gotham on a night Cassandra Cain-Wayne happened to be there, too. She promised Damian she’d give him an extra sword lesson in the morning if he got a proper night’s rest. It made it easier for Alfred and their father to get her youngest brother to go to bed and she genuinely liked helping Damian. 

She went to sleep that night happy about the way the day had gone and with how the evening had turned out. She was happy about how the next day was looking to turn out as well. She was happy to have her friends and family. She was happy to have her team and her work. She was happy to have two cities she could honestly call come. 

She was just happy. 

It hadn’t been something she’d expected out of life for a long time. 

She decided her father had been right. He -and everything he had brought with him- had been the best gifts she ever could have received as well.


End file.
